The World's an Oyster
by SoggyTeabags
Summary: Tino begins his new life in Australia after moving from Finland. He meets brothers Lukas and Emil, and their life accidentally changes dramatically. Will they be able to adjust to what has happened to them and also keep it a secret from Berwald, that strange boy with an interest in Marine biology, Mathias, the obnoxious Dane, and their families? Or will they be exposed? Mertalia AU


Chapter one:

Tino stood back to admire his work and wiped an arm splattered with paint across his brow, leaving an accidental blue streak in its path across his forehead. Standing back, he smiled up at the mural on his new bedroom wall and a triumphant sigh escaped him. After letting his eyes wander over his masterpiece of an underwater scene for a few moments, he set down his paintbrush and began to clear up.

The Väinämöinen family, if you could call a single Mother and her son a family, had just settled into their new house after moving from Finland all the way to Australia. The move was drastic and a last minute decision, and at first Tino was upset and emotionally unprepared for the move. Having to say goodbye to all of his friends and even his Father back in his home country was the hardest thing he had done in the 17 years that he had lived; but after waking up after a long and tiring journey and seeing the white sandy beaches and beautiful coastline through the window as the plane came into land, Tino was glad they had taken the plunge and chosen to move.

Sure, he was going to miss everything about his home country, but he was ready for a change and a fresh start, and more importantly, so was his mother. She seemed so much happier on the whole once they had left Finland, and truth be told, Tino was a mommy's boy and found he was at his happiest when his mother was.

He hummed along to the song on the radio, still finding it hard to get used to the fact that all of the stations were now in English instead of in Finnish, as he rolled up the white dust sheets that covered his furniture from getting splattered with paint, and placed all of the lids back onto their respected tins of paint. He bundled them all up in his arms and began to make his way downstairs.

Hearing heavy footsteps stomping and struggling down the stairs, Tino's mother, Loitina, came and stood at the foot of them. She was a short woman, quite busty and plump, with a kind, freckly face. She wore her hair short in a style, her blonde bouncing curls ending just around her shoulders.

"Here, pass me those. I'll put it all away. Lunch is on the table." She said with a smile. Loitina still liked to care for her son as if he couldn't do it himself. She had a habit of babying him, and would probably still do so until Tino grew up and left home.

"Thanks Mom. But after lunch, I'll take those paint tins out to the storage shed instead if you want. I'm going to go out and have a look around today so I might as well do it on my way out. I've been stuck in here for five days!"

She nodded. "Alright, thank you. But make sure you shower before going out," she prodded at the blue streak on his forehead, "You're filthy."

Scrubbing at his head and then inspecting his hand, Tino noticed the paint and chuckled at his own stupidity. "Fine, fine, but after I've eaten. Painting is hard work!"

He walked through their house and sat down at the island in the kitchen where a smoked salmon sandwich was waiting for him. His mother joined him in the kitchen, but instead of sitting down she began to start washing the dishes after already eating. Their house was simple, with two bedrooms, a bathroom, a living room and a kitchen/dining area, but it was the perfect size for the two Finns. It was decorated with light, airy colours, mainly light blues and creams, creating that perfect nautical feeling.

They lived close to the golden coast, Tino could just about see the shimmering sea from his bedroom window, and he couldn't wait to go out and explore. The beaches in Finland had been very different, so living so close to what he considered as a beach only found when on a tropical holiday was a dream come true.

"I bought that salmon from a fisherman out on the docks yesterday, it's good isn't it?" his mother began. "I'm determined to have us eating more healthily now that we live so close to the sea and have easy access to fresh fish. I may even start running in the mornings. The weather here is perfect for that." Loitina sighed contently, gazing out of the window as she spoke. "I need to lose some of this weight anyway if I'm going to be caught in a swimsuit on the beach, so I'd better start soon." She said a little quieter.

"Mom you look beautiful." Tino's head snapped up when he heard his mother's last remark. "You don't need to lose any weight. You've looked so… so... _radiant_ since we arrived here. I mean look at you! No other mom I know could look so young in a sundress like that." He pointed to her long flowing flowery sundress with a giggle. "You've even caught a golden glow."

He finished eating and approached her, dropping his plate and glass into the soapy water infront of her before placing a kiss on her cheek.

"What are you implying about my sundress?" she said raising an eyebrow, her tone thick with mock irritation.

"Only that it looks like something Granny used to wear- Hey!"

Tino flinched and jumped out of the way as the pot towel his mother was using to dry the dishes was slapped against his legs, a grin etched onto his face. His mother's shrill laughter rang out as she chased him with the towel. "That'll teach you, you cheeky boy! Now be off with you, get showered and get out there and make some friends."

Tino grinned and stuck out his tongue before racing upstairs.

Around twenty minutes later, Tino returned looking refreshed after his shower. He was wearing a red tank top - the logo of his favourite Folk Metal band '_Korpiklaani_' plastered upon the front, tan coloured baggy shorts and black converse; his hair was still slightly damp at the ends.

"Okay Mom, I'm going now!" He stooped down and gathered up the tins of paint and the brushes waiting at the bottom of the stairs.

"See you later, honey! Have fun!" Loitina shouted through the house in reply to her son from where she was busy loading the washing machine with laundry.

"Will do, mom! Love you!"

* * *

"Emil! Hey, Emil!"

Emil stopped in his tracks and turned to look over his shoulder at the person calling his name. It was Gilbert, that strange red eyed boy. Emil was wary of him, and eyed him nervously. Deciding it was best to ignore him, he continued to walk away down the wooden boardwalk towards home. Emil had been running some errands for his father down at the docks, as his father was a fisherman. Though he descended from a long line of fishermen tracing all the way back to his home country of Iceland, Emil was scared of the water and wasn't keen on staying on a boat for too long.

"Hey Emil, don't walk away from me! I need your help… Please?" Gilbert called after him again.

Sighing heavily, Emil turned around and began to walk slowly towards Gilbert.

"Help? With what? And why me?" Emil's voice and accent were strange. He had a habit of picking up the accents of the people that lived around him. By being brought up in a Scandinavian household, yet he was living in Australia, he had a hint of an Australian accent mixed in with his heavy Icelandic one. No matter how much he tried to perfect and hide his accent, he couldn't.

"I can't get my boat going, something's wrong with the engine. I just need you to pass me the tools when I ask. And why you? Because you're here and I can trust you." He said with a smile.

"Fine."

Emil approached him and cautiously stepped into the little rubber speed boat when Gilbert motioned for him to do so.

"See that tool box in the corner there? Can you pass me the wrench and the screw driver?" Gilbert asked, crouching on the boardwalk beside where the boat was tied up and began to slowly untie the knot when Emil turned his back to search for the tools.

Just as Emil turned around with the tools in hand, he felt the boat jolt as Gilbert kicked it away from the docks. The tools dropped from his hands, clattering to the floor of the boat and his eyes widened as he saw that he was now surrounded by nothing but water. The boat began to drift further and further away from land, being carried gently by the current and out to sea.

"Gilbert! What are you doing!? This is dangerous, stop!"

Gilbert just laughed and high-fived Francis who had appeared next to him, most probably in with this whole thing.

"Emil, relax! I'll tell you what, if you can get the boat going, you can keep it!"

Emil's eyes widened like saucers. That's right, the engine didn't work!

Frantically he lifted the lid of the propellers engine and stared dumbfounded at the mass of tangled coloured wires and gears inside. Looking back up over at Gilbert and Francis, he saw that they were walking along the boardwalk following the boat as it got further and further away laughing and grinning to each other, but they were nearing the end of it, and soon Emil would be out into the open ocean.

Suddenly a flash of red caught in the corner of Emil's eye and he cowered into the corner of the boat as it rocked to and fro with a sudden force. Opening his eyes that he had screwed shut, he saw that someone had jumped into the boat with him as it passed by one of the empty docks sticking out from the boardwalk. "Are you insane?! You are realising that we're floating out to sea here, right?" Emil spluttered at the boy who stood proudly next to him in the boat.

"Oh I know. My name is Tino by the way. Nice to meet you, Emil."

Emil's mouth hung open at the casual greeting he was given by this weird boy. He would've been shocked also at the fact he knew his name, but he'd most probably heard Gilbert calling out to him.

He'd never seen this boy before, and judging by his accent he wasn't from around here. He was a new foreigner probably. Their little coastal town was known for being over populated with foreigners more than native Australians, so most of the people that Emil knew came from somewhere abroad. They usually came with their families because they either got posted here for military purposes, they had a career in fishing and moved here because of the amazing fishing locations, or their children were attending the famous school for Marine Biology here in the town.

"Here, move over. I know a thing or two about mechanics, perhaps I can get this thing going."

Emil moved silently to the other side of the boat, just watching as the other boy – Tino - opened up the engine and started to re-wire everything as if he knew exactly what he was doing. Back in Finland, Tino's father had been a mechanic, and during the harsh winter months Tino had helped out countless times when trying to get their frozen car to start in the morning and assisting him when he worked occasionally. Emil then looked back over at Gilbert and Francis, they too looked extremely confused.

Suddenly, the boat shuddered as the engine came to life, startling Emil. Tino simply looked over at Emil, a smug grin on his face. Emil couldn't help but to crack a shy grin, relief washing over him.

"How about we take her for a spin?"

Emil didn't like boats, and he certainly didn't like the water, but after watching Tinos quick performance just then, he trusted him and didn't want to seem like a big baby infront of him. Slowly he nodded, and took a seat next to Tino who had now taken control of the wheel at the front of the boat.

"You're shaking, are you alright?" Tino asked, now a little worried by Emil's reaction.

"Mmm, I'm fine." Emil mumbled.

A cocky grin crept onto Tino's lips as he began to turn the boat around and headed back towards the docks, much to Emil's relief.

Francis and Gilbert were still standing at the end of the boardwalk, a look of complete shock and annoyance etched onto their faces. Tino picked up the pace and began to speed towards them. Emil shielded his eyes, expecting Tino to crash the boat into the docks at the speed he was now pacing at. But instead, Tino abruptly took a sharp turn, sending the boat in a full 360 turn, resulting in a huge spray of water washing over Francis and Gilbert, soaking them to the skin. Emil cheered and clapped his hands, and Tino felt a bubble of pride and triumphant happiness well in his chest.

"Who is that kid?" Francis shouted, tipping his head to one side and wringing out his sopping wet hair and clothes. Gilbert simply just shook his head in disbelief as he watched the pair glide through the docks in his boat. He really did think it was broken, which meant a great excuse to play a trick on someone since he no longer had a use for it; but that kid fixed it in a matter of seconds!

Tino and Emil were now out of Gilbert's sight and were passing through the docks into the canal used for leisurely boating. The water was calm here, and Emil actually felt safe aboard the small speed boat. They passed several yachts and small canoe boats, waving cheerfully at the people in them when they did so, who waved back at the two boys.

"Lukas!" Emil suddenly shouted out, looking across the water at a boy sat with a book in hand; his legs dangling over the wall of the canal. Unlike Emil, Lukas looked like he belonged on the sea. His feet were bare and he was dressed in bleached white skinny jeans sloppily cut off at the knee and a loose blue and white striped tank top. He looked slightly older than Emil and Tino, with neat, platinum blonde hair, one side pulled back by a pin in the shape of a cross. His visible ear covered in piercings and studs.

"Emil?" Lukas looked up from what he was reading and stood up quickly as Emil passed by in the boat. Tino turned the boat around again and slowly came to a stop by the wall that Lukas now stood on.

"You know him?" Tino said to Emil as he brought the boat to a standstill.

Emil nodded. "He's related."

"I'm his Big Brother." Lukas stated, narrowing his eyes at Tino, who grinned up at him sheepishly.

"Well… uh, want to join us?"

Lukas' jaw clenched, but his expression remained unreadable.

"Are you licensed for driving that?" he asked sharply.

Tino shrank back a little under his gaze. "Umm, no?"

He then began to explain the story of how exactly he acquired the boat when he was hushed by Emil, who whispered quietly to him that it was best if Lukas didn't find out about the little incident. Lukas sensed something was going on, slipped on his shoes and began to descend down the stone steps that lead from the grass verge at the top of the canal walls edge, to the water's edge itself. He tossed the book into the boat with a loud _thump_ and climbed in without saying a word. He sat directly behind Tino, and Tino began to feel a little intimidated by him. Perhaps it was his lack of speech and very abrupt actions? He couldn't place it, but never the less; he started up the boat again and began to head out to sea.

"Hey, wait. Where are we going?" Emil spluttered, clinging onto the side of the boat.

"Out to sea. I've wanted to explore for a while, and what better opportunity than in a boat?" Tino's eyes were locked on the horizon as he spoke, clearly thrilled by the freedom of playing captain.

"But isn't it dangerous in a boat this size?"

"Chill out! We'll be fine." Tino assured, patting Emil's shoulder.

-Later-

"Are we _chilled out_ yet?"

Tino could feel Lukas' stare burning into his back as he tried time and time again to start the engine of the boat. The boat had come to a standstill, the waves lapping gently at its side as the trio drifted in the middle of the ocean. Lukas sat cross-legged in the bottom of the boat; his chin resting in his hand, Emil was curled up next to him in the corner claiming he was going to throw up any minute, while Tino struggled with starting the engine, pulling over and over on the choke with no success. The engine was well and truly dead.

"Hey, at least we're not sinking." Tino said cheerily, trying to lighten the mood.

"Not yet." Emil bit back.

Sitting back and sighing deeply, Tino gave up on trying to get the engine to start again. Instead, he picked up the ores stored in the floor of the boat for emergencies like this. Keeping one for himself, he held out the other two the two brothers, motioning for one of them to take it.

"Well we should at least try and get to that Island over there." He motioned for Lukas and Emil to look behind them at the island in the distance with a nod of his head. "Then one of you can call for help."

Lukas snatched the ore from Tino. "Why can't you call for help?"

"I don't have a cell phone yet. The one I had back in Finland won't work over here." He then began to look a little skeptical. "You... _do have_ cell phones, right?"

To Tino's surprise, Lukas shook his head. What teenager didn't have a mobile phone?

"I do." Emil piped up, reaching into his pocket and producing his phone. Tino began to giggle.

"What's so funny?" Emil snapped, his face reddening.

"Is that… Puffins on your phone case?"

Lukas rolled his eyes and stood up to sit on the seat, ready to begin rowing.

"So what if it is?" In a huff, Emil shoved his phone back into his pocket and crossed his arms over his chest and pouted like a small child.

"Can we just get going?" Lukas was starting to get irritated, and Tino didn't like the thought of ending up on his bad side.

"Yes. Right."

Tino sat down beside Lukas and the two began to row. As they began to slowly make their way towards the island, Emil sat up and looked a little more closely at their destination.

"Hey. That's… Mako Island, right Lukas?" his voice cracked a little as he spoke.

Lukas simply nodded in response, only briefly glancing down at Emil. To say that they were brothers they acted very strangely around each other.

"But it's surrounded by sharks… and reefs… and…" he trailed off when Lukas shot him a look. None of the trio aboard the little vessel spoke again until they finally reached the island.

* * *

Tino and Lukas jumped out when they neared the shore and dragged the boat onto the beach. Emil stayed put inside of the boat until it was safely on dry land before hopping out. He then took his phone from his pocket and frowned at the device.

"No signal."

Lukas sighed and began to walk up the beach and towards the tropical forest that made up most of the island. The island was small and circular, with a thin strip of sandy beach. An enormous volcano stood proudly at the back of the island, only reachable if one were to trek through the forest. It had been dormant for thousands of years though, and all kinds of greenery grew up the side of if, making it seem more like a very steep mountain rather than a volcano.

"Lukas, where are you going?" Tino called after him.

"To higher ground. We'll get a signal up there." Lukas stated simply before disappearing into the trees.

Emil placed a hand on Tino's shoulder, "Lukas knows what he's doing. He's a complete weirdo, but he knows some stuff."

Tino smiled at the expression on Emil's face and the two began to follow Lukas into the jungle.

Around half an hour had passed and the trio were still trekking across the island. They were heading up to higher ground, slowly but surely. The island was filled with all kinds of tropical plants and animals, and Tino was constantly on the lookout for any spider webs hanging above him or loose tree roots that may cause him to lose his footing.

He followed behind Emil and Lukas who carried on forward unphased by the tropical climate and bickered with each other.

"Lukas, where exactly are we going?" Emil began to whine, dragging his tired feet.

"Just up. I still haven't got signal."

Lukas was now holding Emil's cell phone out infront of him in a typical attempt to attain a signal, waving it around a little as he walked.

"Are we heading up to that volcano?" Tino asked from the back of the little group.

"Probably."

Soon, they came to a clearing in the trees and came across a small trickling waterfall among some rocks that formed a little pool beneath it. Though the waterfall was only around four feet tall, the only way across to the other side was to stand atop the rocks above the water fall and jump the short distance across, which was no wider than a metre. The rocks looked slippery with moss and water though, so Lukas approached carefully. He shoved Emil's phone safely into his pocket before bracing himself and jumping gracefully across.

"Come on, hurry up. It's fine." He called over to Tino and Emil who were now stood at the edge on the other side. In one, swift motion Emil was by Lukas' side. He stumbled a little upon landing, but managed to steady himself. Tino however, hesitated and didn't jump.

"I can't do it, it's too slippery." He eyed the ground around him nervously. The thought of him slipping and tumbling down into the pool of sharp rocks beneath him played on his mind.

"Just jump! We'll catch you on this side, won't we Lukas?"

Lukas rolled his eyes, but nodded in agreement and held out his arms. As did Emil.

Swallowing thickly, Tino braced himself for the jump and moved forward a couple of inches. Then, he suddenly lost his footing, slipped and disappeared. Emil and Lukas looked around in alarm and quickly made their way back over to the other side. Where Tino had been standing was now a hole where the rock had crumbled beneath him.

Lukas shrugged, "He looked a little heavier than us, but I didn't think he was that heavy." Emil shot him a glare and crouched down beside the hole in the ground. He could faintly hear Tino coughing and spluttering from inside.

"Tino! Are you alright?"

His voice echoed into the hole several times.

"I- yeah, I'm alright!"

Tino sat up slowly and looked around, a little dazed at his sudden fall. All around him was soft, golden sand and the walls around him were made from rock. He ran his hands along the wall, they were wet and surprisingly smooth. A stream of light came in from the roof of the cave from where he had entered, but strangely, behind him came another light, and an opening that lead further back into the rock.

"What's down there?" Emil's voice echoed into the cave again.

"I'm not sure, it's like a cave or something… There's a tunnel too."

All went quiet for a few moments before Lukas spoke up.

"Can you get out?"

Tino looked up at the hole above him. He'd fallen down a steep, smooth slope of rock, connecting the sandy floor he stood on to the rocks of the waterfall and the roof of the cave. He could clearly see Lukas and Emil's faces looking down at him, but it was a steep and slippery way down. There is no way he could climb out. He shook his head. "No. But there is a tunnel behind me, it might lead to a way out."

Lukas and Emil exchanged glances and hushed whispers while Tino stood up and dusted himself off. He began to slowly approach the tunnel, fearing that the roof might collapse on him if he didn't get out soon.

"Woah shit -OUCH!" Tino flinched suddenly when something crashed down behind him. He ducked and covered his head with his hands expecting the roof to be caving in, but when nothing else happened, he looked up. Emil sat on the sandy floor at Tino's feet, rubbing the bottom of his back.

"Emil what the hell are you doing!" Lukas' enraged voice echoed through the cave. Lukas was peering over into the cave, his knuckles white from gripping the rock too tightly. Fear started to form in the pit of his stomach and he frantically looked around for something, anything, to get his brother out of that hole.

"Lukas, Tino was right, there's a tunnel! He's gone to check it out."

The little Finn had begun to make his way slowly down the dark tunnel, his fingers grazing the rocky wall as he did so. He stopped suddenly as his shins hit something. Looking down he squinted in the darkness and saw he had collided with a set of three or four steps carved into the stone. Puzzled, he ascended them carefully and gasped in awe when he reached the top. He emerged through an opening in the rock to another cave.

The floor was still sandy, and the walls made from jagged rock, but here the rock was infused with small pieces of blue gems, shimmering beautifully in the light that came from above. Against the far wall of the cave there was a pool of beautiful blue. It too shined under the light from above, giving it a magical glow. Tino looked up and saw that the light was coming from an opening at the end of the cone shaped roof. He was _inside_ the volcano.

"Woah…" someone breathed from behind him. Tino looked over his shoulder to see Emil scrambling his way up the steps, and to his surprise Lukas close behind him; the look on his face was of pure awe and amazement.

The three of them stood in stunned silence, looking all around at the place they had discovered.

"It looks magical…" Tino said in almost a whisper. The others nodded in silent agreement. "But how will we get out? This led us to nowhere."

Lukas knelt down beside the pool and let his hand glide through the water. It was warm, and he felt himself drawn to it. The blue tinted light reflected onto his face as he studied the water. He noticed salty tidal rings along the rock wall of the pool and sat up suddenly.

"This is our way out." He suddenly stated while slipping his shoes off and taking Emil's phone from his pocket, setting it down next to them. Then he stepped into the pool. There was a ledge of smooth rock that jutted out from the pool walls just underneath the water's surface for him to stand on. It was shallow here, and the water came to just below his knees. The rest of the pool was deep, and seemed bottomless. It seemed almost as if this cave was created by something more than nature itself, hence the steps and the shallow part of the pool, but that was impossible, right? The cave had been closed off by sealed rock, discovered accidentally by Tino.

"What do you mean, Lukas?" Tino asked as he watched Lukas get into the pool.

"Tidal rings," Lukas pointed at the rings of salt, "If I'm right, this pool is connected to the ocean. We can swim out."

With that he leapt off the ledge and into the pool. He emerged again seconds later, smoothing his dripping hair back and out of his eyes. He then nodded briefly at Tino and Emil before diving under the water again and disappearing. Emil sucked in a quick breath and sat down by the side of the pool, peering around, trying to catch any remaining traces of his brother. Tino knelt down beside him. "Are you alright, Emil?"

Emil's large purple eyes turned to face Tino. He studied his face before slumping down next to him and letting out a sigh.

"No."

Tino blinked a few times, unsure of what to say. He shuffled a little closer and tapped Emil on the shoulder.

"Hey, we're going to be fine. Your brother seems to know what he's doing." He paused for a moment, "Though I'm not sure what he plans to do once we get out into the ocean…"

Emil sighed again and brought his knees up to his chin, hugging them.

Silence surrounded them for a good five minutes and Emil began to get restless. Lukas had been gone for a while, and he couldn't help but begin to think something bad had happened to him. Tino sensed Emil's unease and began to ask questions to keep his mind preoccupied.

"So how old are you, Emil?"

It seemed strange asking a question like this as the two brothers barely knew Tino, yet they travelled out on a boat with him like they had been friends for years.

"I'm fifteen. What about you?" Emil shuffled around so that he was now facing Tino. He didn't look him in the eye though, instead he began to draw patterns in the sand with his fingers.

"I'm Seventeen. What about Lukas, I'm guessing he's around my age?"

Emil nodded. "Yeah. He's seventeen too."

The two just exchanged glances as they sat quietly waiting for Lukas' return. Tino didn't want to push Emil into talking too much. He could sense his unease and even though Tino could talk for hours he knew not everyone felt as comfortable as he did during conversation.

Tino and Emil scrambled to their feet as Lukas suddenly broke through the water of the pool, breathing heavily. He shook his head, droplets of water flying from his hair.

"I was right. It's about a 15 second swim right under there."

He held out his hand motioning for Emil and Tino to join him in the water.

"15 seconds? Lukas you were gone for five minutes…" Tino said slowly.

"I know. Once we get out into the ocean we have to swim to a stretch of beach."

Tino hesitated for a second before deciding to join Lukas in the water. He slipped off his shoes and tied them to his arms and stepped gingerly onto the pools ledge.

"Emil, are you coming? This is our only way out…"

Emil had sat back down. He'd taken his phone from beside Lukas shoes and was frantically trying to get a signal on the little device. Tino chuckled.

"Emil… come on. Once we get out of here, we'll be fi-"

"No we won't!"

Tino blinked in shock as Emil suddenly shouted at him. He threw his phone down into the sand and stood up quickly. His fists were clenched and he was red in the face. Tino wasn't quite sure how to react, so he remained silent.

"My phone will get wet and then how will we call for help? And also…" he fidgeted a little before continuing, "I can't swim."

Tino's face softened. Emil was getting more and more flustered by the second. Lukas, still in the pool, remained silent, his shoes now also tied to his wrists.

"Emil. We can't stay in here forever. I know your phone will break, but you don't have signal anyway. People will see us if we're on the beach and hopefully come to our aid. How will they see us in here?" Lukas reasoned his voice calm.

"Fine." Emil gritted his teeth and took his shoes off also. Copying the older boys, he tied them to his wrist and stepped into the pool next to Tino. The Finn took his hand in his and gave it a little squeeze.

"Hold your breath, alright? We'll jump in and follow Lukas out."

Taking in a few deep breaths, Emil nodded.

"On the count of three. One… Two…" a quick glance was exchanged, Emil's face filled with fear.

"Three."

Leaving the ledge, Tino and Emil plunged into the water. Emil trashed around and struggled in the water. He wrenched his hand from Tino's tight grip and let himself float to the surface of the pool. The water began to bubble and glow around the three boys, and it wasn't long before Lukas and Tino were above the surface also.

"Emil, why did you do that? We could be out by now!" Tino sighed heavily, he was beginning to get a little tired of being stranded, and was beginning to feel a little scared himself. Both Lukas and Tino each had hold of one of Emil's arms, helping to keep him afloat. Suddenly, they noticed how the water had changed. The water had grown warmer and it sent tingles through the bodies of the three boys. Bubbles began to rise from the water and up into the tip of the volcanoes cone. Looking up, they noticed that the moon had now risen. It was full and bright and was perfectly above the circular opening in the roof of the cave. It illuminated the cave, causing the blue gems in the wall to glow and shimmer. No one spoke, all of them completely stunned by what was happening.

"This place is really starting to freak me out…" Emil muttered. The moon passed over the volcanoes opening as quickly as it appeared and they three boys were left in a darkened room.

"Let's get out of here then, shall we?"

Emil nodded and began to take a few deep breaths, preparing himself for the plunge underwater.

"We'll follow you out Lukas. I have hold of Emil."

The trio sunk slowly under the water, Lukas going first quickly followed by Tino and Emil. Under the water of the pool there was a hidden exit in the cave's wall. It was tunnel like, but not very long. Lukas swam powerfully ahead and was out of the cave and into the ocean. Emil held his breath in a rather comical way, his cheeks puffed out and his eyes screwed shut to keep out the salt water. Tino was then forced to keep his eyes open so he could follow Lukas and navigate for himself and Emil, who had his arm looped in his. This made it difficult for Tino to swim, as Emil was pretty much dead weight and no help at all. He emerged next to Lukas around ten seconds later, coughing and spluttering as he threw his head above the water.

He immediately had to shield his eyes though with his free hand as he was met by a harsh, bright white light as soon as he appeared above the surface. Emil's eyes remained screwed shut.

"This is the water rescue service. Please make your way to the boarding plank at the rear of the vessel."

A booming voice called out from some kind of Megaphone or Microphone. A large orange lifeboat was now sailing slowly towards Lukas Emil and Tino, and the three began to do as instructed and swim towards it. Tino looked over his shoulder quickly upon reaching the boat before boarding and shot it a glare. He had a strange feeling about the island, and made a promise to himself to never have anything to do with it again.

Once on board the boat, the shivering boys were given towels and were ushered inside the cabin by the lifeguards.

"You boys are lucky that we found you. We received a call from a passing boat when they saw an abandoned boat floating in the ocean near this Island. It must have washed from the shore when the tide came in. It's dangerous to travel this far out in a boat that size, I want you boys to remember that." A heavy accented Australian man gave them a lecturing, but it wasn't intended to be a cruel one. It was only part of his job.

Tino hung his head, feeling responsible for everything that happened.

"Where is the boat now?" he asked.

"Down at the docks. We will have to ask one of your parents to come and collect it, as neither of you are licensed either, I take it?"

"That's right. We're really sorry, but the boat wasn't ours!"

Tino began to unravel the tale of how he had acquired the boat. The lifeguards took down Gilberts name and address from Lukas, who gladly handed it over. Emil began to panic, knowing exactly how Gilbert and his parents would react to him being a snitch, but he didn't need to worry about that now. He needed to worry about how his own parents would react, and all he wanted was a nice cosy warm bed on dry land. The same thoughts running through both Lukas and Tino's mind.

The boat trip back to the mainland was a short and silent one, each of the boys too tired to say a word to each other. Tomorrow they would clear everything up.

* * *

This may or may not be based off of a TV show I used to watch as a kid... I wonder if you can guess it.

I used the first episode as a prompt, but I have my own ideas for the rest of the story. I'm a sucker for fantasy Nordic Fics. Sorry to all the readers and followers of my other stories. I am still working on them, but I have so many ideas for new stories that I like to get out as I think of them. Your reviews and feedback always make me decide if I want to continue a story or not. I will always post new stories, but it's up to you guys to let me know if you like them and I should continue.

Thank you for reading.


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